Walking to town

 I waited until 8:30 to go walking this morning.

It was 25 degrees and cloudy with just a little breeze.

It is 2 miles to town and today I walked there instead of driving.

Just before getting to town I walked a ways up Sale Barn Rd.

These cows are some of Farmer Marvin's and probably some

are the mothers of the bulls down by the barn.

Once in town I walked around the cemetery on top of the hill

and then over to the ball park loop.

Since I was late in walking I didn't see Joy but pretty sure I

saw her foot prints in the snow around the cemetery and ball park.

Continued walking through town and over to the Dollar General 

and a little ways down the industrial park road.

Ken had to go to town so I met him there and got a ride home.

Walked 6 miles

☁️    🙂    ☁️

This is number 16 of the town Christmas decorations and the last one.

It is almost at the edge of town.

Both ends of town have a Christmas tree but are different.

🎄    🎄    🎄

Finished writing out the Christmas cards this afternoon.

I've cut down on the number of cards.

This year I just sent out 25.

We finished the ice cream puzzle last night.

It was a pretty easy one but fun to do.

Did a little more house work and then read.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

A happy Thursday to you. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you...

yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother 

and offer him your hand.

- Mother Teresa -

Comment Replies:

Rose - David was 10 months old when we went to Scotland.  10 months later Debbi was born.  The kids started school in Puerto Rico and when we got back to the states David was in the 4th grade and Debbi in second. 

A walk near home

Didn't drive to town this morning for my walk.

It was 25 degrees and snowing and decided to wait until it was

light out to walk near the house.

We just had a dusting of snow this morning but I shoveled the driveway anyway.  Wanted to try out my new snow shovel.

After I did that is when I went for my walk.

Looks early but it was 10:00!

A few of my neighbor cows.

Walked down the hill to the main road and back.

I live at the end of this road.

Walked up a neighbors driveway,

and up the lane.

Only walked 5 miles but I figured shoveling the driveway

counted for another mile.

🌨     🙂    🌨 

Another town Christmas decoration.

A candle this time and it is at the other end of the Dollar General.

   🎄    🎄    🎄

Just before lunch we drove down to the library to drop off a couple

of books and to pick up a DVD.

Started snowing again but it isn't amounting to anything.

After lunch I finally got some house work done!!

Got around to writing out quite a few Christmas cards too.

I was sitting at the table writing out the cards, 

listening to Christmas music (Anne Murray)

and watching it snow outside.

It was delightful.

We've been kicking that word delightful around here ever since

Dave (David's friend) described the Meringue Cookies 

I made as delightful. We all got such a kick out of him saying that.

I put some pork chops in the slow cooker this morning.

Seared them first and then rubbed garlic and brown sugar

on the before putting them in the cooker.

Mashed potatoes and beets were also on the menu for supper.

Ken gave me a hair cut - took a couple of inches off and now

my hair comes to just below by ears.

I like it!!

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hope your day was a happy one. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine;

 Love was born at Christmas; Star and angels gave the sign.

- Christina Rossetti -

Comment Replies:

Rose - Yes, I started blogging in 2007.  Ken was in the Navy and the Christmas balls with Scotland and Puerto Rico on them were when we lived there. 4 years in Scotland and 3 in Puerto Rico.

Sandi - Japhy isn't short for anything.  That is his name.  : )

Red Christmas Balls

 This morning the temperature was 20 degrees - 30 degrees colder than yesterday.

A slight breeze with a mix of sun and clouds and a morning

for wearing my nice warm coat!!

Walked all around down, the ball park, and the lower cemetery.

There were a couple of rabbits hopping about.

Didn't see anyone else out walking.

But still waved to the bus drivers, some cars and trucks who see

me each morning.

I got back to the Jeep and realized I didn't take any walking pictures

this morning.

Walked 6 miles

⛅️    🙂    ⛅️

Another town Christmas decoration.

Yesterday I said the bells were my favorite but

this holly is tied with it.

It is at one end of the Dollar General.

🎄    🎄    🎄

Food shopping day at the Shop and Save and as usual we did 

that first thing after breakfast to get it over with.

Also hardly anyone in the store.

Didn't do any house cleaning today either!

Spent way too much time working on the puzzle.

We are still doing the ice cream one.

It is pretty easy just haven't been working on it much until today.

I picked out 11 of the painted Christmas balls to hang on the mantel.

These all have names on them.

Some close ups of the balls.

David and his children
 

Debbi and her children

❤️ This years ball is for Liz as we welcome her to our family. ❤️

This picture is from a few years ago and shows a sampling 

of the balls Ken has painted.

We now have 49 painted balls.

Thanks for stopping by.

A happy Tuesday to you. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, 

a time when the love of God 

and the love of our fellow men 

should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, 

a time when our thoughts and deeds 

and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God.

- George F McDougall -

Comment Replies:

GrannyM - Yes, the tree is a real one from out back in the woods.

The tree is up

The temperature sure changes a lot from day to day lately.

This morning when I walked it was a warm 50 degrees.

It was mostly cloudy but the sun did show itself briefly.

Enjoyed my walk around town, both cemeteries and the ball park.

A lot of people leave their Christmas lights on all night and since 

I start walking in the dark it's nice

to see the lights in the morning when I'm walking.

There were a lot of ducks on the farm pond behind the Drane house

down by the bulls.

The water looked pink from the sky reflection.

Saw Joy out walking today and this time she was close enough

that we stopped for a little chat.

Back at the Jeep I realized I didn't quite have my 6 miles walked

so took a walk around the town pond to get the 6 miles.

☁️    ⛅️    ☁️

Another town Christmas decoration.

This time Bells and they are by the gas station.

This is my favorite so far.

🎄    🎄    🎄

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated.

Don't usually do it this early but glad to have it done.

We put two strings of red lights on and one string of multicolor

which blink.

I have to put tinsel on the tree - just doesn't seem finished without it.

We didn't have any To and From cards to put on the presents

so I made some from old Christmas cards.

We don't give each other present anymore

but we did get David and Liz a couple of things.

Every Christmas Ken paints some thing from the year on a red Christmas ball. 

I went through them all and selected 11 of them to hang on the mantel. 

This year he painted the 49th ball.

Will post that tomorrow.

I had planned on getting started writing out some Christmas cards

today but never got around to it.

That will be for tomorrow.

That's all I have for today.

Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

A happy Monday to you.

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Saturday

 36 degrees this morning when I headed out for my morning walk.

No wind and once the sun rose I had a sunny walk.

Walked up and down the main road in town,

around the ball park, and once around the lower cemetery.

Went down 219 to the bend in the road, turned around

and back through town.

Kids can drop off their Christmas wish lists to Santa here in the mail box.

I was just getting back to the parking lot by the pond

and noticed Joy in the distance on her way up to the cemetery.

You can barely see her in about the middle of the picture.

A quiet Saturday morning around town.

Walked 6 miles

🌤    🙂    🌤

The next town Christmas decoration down the road is this soldier. 

He is by the laundromat and car wash.

🎄    🎄    🎄 

It was a nice sunny day to go walking in the woods.

So after lunch we went walking around Happy Trails

and found a cute little Christmas tree.

It is sitting out on the porch now until we bring it in to decorate it.

Didn't do much of anything else today.

A lazy kind of day.

Thanks for stopping by.

A happy Saturday to you. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Snow Shovel

This morning it was 31 degrees when I went walking.

Just a bit of a breeze with a mix of sun and clouds once it was sunrise.

 Walked up and down most of the roads in town,

both cemeteries and the ball park.

Here comes the sun.

Just came down the hill from the cemetery when I took this picture.

Love the lighting.

Pretty quiet around town this morning.

Didn't see anyone else out walking but as I was driving out of the

parking lot I saw Joy walking.

Walked 6 miles

🌤    🙂    ☁️

The gift packages is the next Christmas decoration

along main street.

This one is at the corner by the dentist.

🎄    🎄    🎄

The whole wheat bread I made yesterday was this mornings

breakfast - toasted with butter.

Delicious

Got a slow cooker of chili going first thing this morning.

Took a drive to Grantsville to the dump and got rid of our garbage.

Next stop was CVS.

There is a hardware store a couple doors down and we went there

and I got a brand new snow shovel. 😀

Nice and bright - certainly won't get lost in the snow.

Now I'm looking forward to some snow so I can try it out.

David and Liz are coming over in just a little while.

We are having the chili for supper and having a game night.

This time we are going to play

 RACK-O.

🙂 So off I go to await their arrival. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by.

Hope your day was a happy one. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Comment Replies:
GrannyM - Sometimes I do take my umbrella but most times it is too windy and it doesn't do much good!  If it is a hard rain with no wind I use the umbrella, even with my rain gear!

Thursday

 Surprisingly warm this morning when I walked.

46 degrees, windy, and cloudy.

Started out with just three layers and took one off after walking a mile.

My walk took me today through town and around the

industrial park.

You can see how windy it is by how the flags are straight out.

I see this old barn is getting a new roof.

Needs a bit more than a new roof too.

Back in town I walked around the ball park loop

and the cemetery on top of the hill.

Went down to see the bulls and they are pretty muddy now

that it is warm again.

I've named this guy Curly.

He had his head buried while eating but stopped to take a look at me.

Didn't see anyone else out walking.

I'm sure Joy was out there though but we just didn't run into each other.

She is the most regular walker I've come across.

Walked my usual 6 miles

☁️    🙂    💨

Town Christmas decoration today is a horn.

It is in front of the old Victorian house in town.

🎄    🎄

I made Whole Wheat Bread this morning.

Well, I put the ingredients in the bread machine and it made the bread.

First time I used this recipe.

Delicious, but then I love most breads! 🍞

I've been on a waiting list at the library to read the latest book

in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, 

Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone

on my Kindle for months and I finally got it today.

The Kindle tells me how long it will take to read a book and this

one says 34 hours!

Hope to finish up my current book this evening and get started

on this new one.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hope your day was a happy one. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Forsythia in December !!

 

31 degrees this morning, calm and once the sun rose there

was a mix of sun and clouds.

Had a nice walk all around town with no worry of ice or snow.

Walked around both cemeteries, the ball park, and down

the main road a ways.

Joy was out walking and we stopped for a chat when I was coming

down from the cemetery and she was going up.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw this

Forsythia blooming!!!

A spring plant blooming in Dec in freezing temperatures.

I touched it to make sure it was real and it was.

Amazing isn't it?!!

Stopped for a chat with Paul who works for the town.

He told me some information about that old house in town that

had the vegetation cut down around it.

Years ago it was owned by Farmer Bill's (who I've mentioned whose farm

is on the Farm Loop walk) grandfather.

The owners after he died had it looking great Paul said and it

was a beautiful home.

Since then it has been sold several more times and the

 man who owns it now bought it quite a few years ago.

He doesn't live around here and has just let it sit for years.

The town has taken him to court over it and he has to either

sell it or have it demolished.  If he doesn't the land goes back to the

town and they will demolish the house.

So rumor has it that he is making it look presentable and then

will try to sell it.

Will be interesting to see what happens to it.

I walked 6 miles

The next town Christmas decoration is this Poinsettia.

It hangs at the intersection at the main road and the road 

where we used to live in town. 

🌤    🙂    🌤

The morning was for housework.

Today is Liz's birthday 🎈and her and David came over this afternoon

and we had birthday cake 🎂which I had baked yesterday.

It was the first time I used this recipe and it was a hit.

I sent the rest of the cake home with them! 

We walked around Happy Trails a bit this afternoon.

We also put up some Christmas lights up on the railing of

the front porch.  

An easy supper tonight of hot ham and cheese sandwiches

with a few potato chips.

Thanks for stopping by.

A happy Wednesday to you. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Mantel or Mantle ?

28 degrees this morning, cloudy, with a few snow flurries floating around.

 The main road was clear and the side streets were snow covered

but with only a dusting.

I wore my Yaktrax and was fine walking in the snow.

Walked up and down the main road, the cemeteries and the ball park.

Went down to see the bulls and here's my friend I named Spot.

I saw rabbit, deer, bird, and some small animal tracks in the snow.

Didn't see Roger but saw his truck in the parking lot

and then saw his and Andy's (dog) tracks in the snow around the ball park.

I stopped in places and made happy faces in the snow.

After a day of walking in the house it is especially nice to

walk outside again.

Walked 6 miles

Santa is the next Christmas decoration on the way through town.

He hangs in front of the car dealer.

☁️    🙂    ☁️

Did the usual house chores in the morning.

Late morning I baked a cake for Liz's birthday tomorrow.

Her two favorite cakes are 

Cheese Cake and

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing.

Since we just had a cheese cake for Ken's birthday I went ahead

and made the Yellow Cake.

Looking forward to eating a piece tomorrow!!

?   ?   ?

Mantel ? or Mantle ?

Thought you might be interested in the spelling.

13 people mentioned my mantel in comments yesterday.

4 people spelled it Mantel and

9 people spelled it Mantle.

When I was typing my post yesterday I wrote mantle but it didn't look right, 

but mantel didn't look right either so I looked it up.

 Mantel is the spelling for over a fireplace.

Mantle is a cloak or covering.

Mantle is also transfer of power from one to another.

And also Mantle is a thick layer of rock inside the planet.

⛅️

We saw a little bit of sunshine this afternoon and it

did warm up and all the snow is gone again.

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping my.

Hope your Tuesday was happy one. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Christmas Mantel

It was 24 degrees and snowing when I drove to town for my walk.

I didn't stay though and came home again to walk inside.

The main road was fine but the sidewalks and side streets

had a coat of snow and I was afraid of hidden ice.

Most very time I've fallen have been in these conditions.

So today it was a 6 mile walk in the basement split in three times.

🛤 This is the cemetery I walked passed today. 🚂

🌨    🙂    ☁️

The Stocking Christmas decoration in town hangs by the other

church in town.

We went to the Dollar General this morning and also

dropped off a book at the library.

Have been making weave-it squares for the baby blanket for December.

Kelly Green

Lime Green

White

Afternoon brought a bit of sunshine with it. ⛅️

I cleared off the mantel and decorated it with my little village 

and some other Christmas things.

It looks a lot nicer in the evening when it's dark.

Another day zooms by.

Plan on reading and sewing some squares together this evening.

Thanks for stopping by.

A happy Monday to you. 🙂

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Wreath in the mail

 20 degrees this morning and cloudy when I went for my walk.

A bit windy too.

Pretty much stayed on the main road through town.

Quite a few of the side streets looked like this,

so didn't go walking on them.

This road goes to the lower cemetery up there on the left. 

Didn't see anyone else out walking.

Kermit was out getting the ice off his car and I stopped

to chat a bit.  He said I looked nice and warm and I assured him

I was in my nice warm coat.

Actually I was a bit warm.

Stopped to write happyone in the snow.

Walked 6 miles

The next Christmas decoration hanging up in town is a Snowman

and he hangs in front of the bank.

☁️    🙂    ☁️

A surprise arrived in the mail from a long time blogging friend, Tom.

He makes beautiful Christmas wreaths and I was one of the lucky

ones that he made one for.

It is the first Christmas decoration that we've put up.

Hung it inside above the mantel and not on the outside front door because

this way I can look at it more often.

It is made of cedar, red winterberries, lotus pods and white pine cones.

Isn't it beautiful!?

I love those lotus pods.

Thank you so much Tom for your kindness.

🙂    ❤️    🙂

The day turned out to be sunny a one though it did stay cold.

Our driveway was a bit icy and Ken went out and put some salt down.

I had some more turkey leftovers for lunch and that's going to be

it for turkey leftovers for me.

Still a little turkey left and I shredded it and put it in the freezer.

Will be good to put in quesadillas.

Did some more reading and knitting this afternoon.

After eating turkey for days,

we are having good old home pizza for supper this evening.

Ken is making it as I type this.

Thanks for stopping by.

A happy day to you. 🙂

 👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️